German defense startup Donaustahl has been approved to produce and export its Maus first person view drone. Ukraine’s Kraken special forces unit will be its first customer, the Bavarian firm announced this week. Part of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine, the Kraken was raised in anticipation of the Russian invasion in 2022 by veterans of the Azov Regiment. It has eight sub units, including a drone company, an FPV company, and a special assault company.
The drone’s delivery timeline is not known. However, it would go through a “comprehensive” evaluation before its operational deployment, Donaustahl said. According to German Aid to Ukraine, the drone is already being tested in Ukraine, and the deployment would help its development. The announcement follows German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius declaring in June that Berlin would send thousands of strike drones to Ukraine as part of its next aid package to the country.
The modular platform is made of wood, which increases its weight 10 percent but reduces its production cost 75 percent, according to German Aid to Ukraine. It can be equipped with a range of warheads, such as RGP-7 for ramming into combat vehicles and NATO 40mm grenades for drone-dropped ammunition attacks. Additionally, it can be armed with the “trench-cleaner grenade” that explodes with a condensed impact, cutting through steel cables hidden underground that connect explosive devices. The grenade’s explosive has a 360-degree impact with a range of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet), according to German Aid to Ukraine. It can take out wires dug 60 centimeters (23 inches) underground, according to the outlet.
The Maus’s payload capacity is 2.7 kilograms (6 pounds) with a flight range of seven kilometers (4.35 miles) and a maximum speed of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour. Moreover, it can be equipped with infrared/ thermal vision for night operations. An AI recognition software is also being tested on the drone, which will help the platform correctly identify humans, vehicles, and equipment.
